Portable stoves are popular cooking appliances, especially for use while camping or picnicking. Portable stoves commonly are powered by combustible gasses, such as propane gas. A typical portable stove includes a stove frame, one or more burner assemblies arranged in the frame, and a gas supply, such as a gas canister, coupled to the burner assembly via a control valve. Smaller versions convenient for backpacking may be not much larger than the gas canister itself, while larger versions designed for group camping may be the size of a large briefcase.
Larger portable stoves typically are designed to rest on a picnic table and open and close in a manner similar to that of a hard-sided suitcase. As with a suitcase, there may be a handle in the middle of the long, narrow front panel for carrying the portable stove in the closed position.
While these larger, suitcase-style portable stoves work well for their intended purpose, there are some limitations to their use. Generally, the suitcase-style portable stoves require a separate table on which to rest, and must be level or near level on that table. In addition, although the suitcase-style portable stoves fold into a box configuration, they are still somewhat bulky for travel and storage. Care must be taken with the devices because there are often objects that extend outside the box configuration, such as gas line attachments or control knobs, which may need protection during storage and/or transport.